Ambrosia
by Allie351
Summary: Tommy tries to change his ways. Can he do it? Sorry it has taken me so long to update.
1. 1

Chapter 1 I sat on the front porch staring aimlessly into space, not even noticing that my best friend had sat down next to me. He had apparently been talking for about 5 minutes when he realized that I wasn't paying attention to him, so he waved a hand in front of my face to get my attention. "Tommy? Tommy!" he said a couple times, until I turned towards him. "Huh? Oh hi Jase." I said. He was frowning at me, and I could tell he wasn't too happy with me. "What is wrong with you? The last couple of times I've been over here, you've been staring at the ceiling. I highly doubt the ceiling is that interesting. Now, what is bugging you?" he asked. I sighed and finally decided to tell him the truth. "I'm sorry Jason. I'm just in deep thought at the moment." I said. Jason nodded. "Apparently. Anything you want to talk about?" he said. I nodded. "Jason, what would you do if after 17 years your parents told you that you had a brother you never knew about? How would you react?" I asked him, knowing that he would answer truthfully. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then turned his head towards me and took a deep breath. "Honestly speaking, I would be upset. I would be happy to know that I had a brother, but I would be upset that my parents waited 17 years to tell me. Why are you asking?" he asked. I sighed. "My parents just told me the other day that I have an older brother. I have mixed feelings. Part of me wants to be happy knowing that I have a brother, because it's what I always wanted, but part of me wants to hate them for lying to me for 17 years." I explained to him. He nodded. "I can understand where you are coming from. I think I would feel the same way. When did you find this out, exactly how long ago?" he asked. "About a week ago." I answered. He nodded. "Then I can see where you are coming from." he said. I nodded. I knew he would understand me, maybe that was one of the reasons why we became best friends, because he was always so understanding. "What do you think I should do?" I asked him. He sighed. "I can't tell you that, Tommy. You have to figure that out for yourself. But I do want to know one thing. Is he a birth brother, or is he your parent's son?" he asked. "He's a birth brother, he wasn't adopted like I was." I said. Jason nodded. "Then I can't tell you what to do. If it were the other way around, I probably could help you out. I'm sorry bro." he said. I nodded. "It's ok." 


	2. 2

Chapter 2 The next day Jason and the rest of the rangers were waiting for Tommy on the steps of Angel Grove High. "What could be taking him so long?" Billy asked. Kimberly shrugged. "I haven't seen him all morning." she said. It was now lunch time and the group was hoping he would show up for his last 3 classes, since he had skipped his first three. "This is not like Tommy at all. I have never known him to skip classes before." Billy said. "He used to do it all the time before he moved here." Zack reminded them. Trini nodded. "But he said once he came here, he wanted to start over. And he's been doing that. Why is he starting again all of a sudden?" The others shrugged. Jason had sat silent through the whole thing. Tommy was his best friend, he couldn't figure out why he was doing this, or what he was doing. "Jason? Do you know something about this?" Zack asked him gently. He shook his head. "No. I was over at his house the other day and the ceiling was really interesting him for some reason, because he hadn't heard a word I said. Then when I did finally get him to talk, he told me that his parents just told him that he had an older brother, and he's mad at them." he explained, telling them the little he knew. Kimberly sighed. "I can understand being mad at his parents, but this is ridiciulous. Skipping his classes isn't the way to deal with it. Besides, he's always wanted a brother, he should be happy he has one." she said. Jason nodded. "He is, he's ecstatic actually. He's just upset because it took him 17 years to find out. He's mad because he's missed out on 17 years with his brother. I really don't blame him, actually. I mean, his brother is the only thing he has left of his birth parents, and I'd want to capture that memory too, if I could help it." he said. Billy nodded. "Capturing a memory and completely shutting yourself off from your friends are two different things, Jason. I can understand where Tommy is coming from. If I had a way to remember my mom, I'd take that chance immediately. But I can't, and you don't see me doing the things Tommy's doing." he said. Jason had never thought of it that way. In a way, both Tommy and Billy were alike. Billy had lost his mom in a tragic car accident when he was 9, having been raised strictly by his dad. Tommy on the other hand had lost his parents in a car accident when he was a year old, and had been adopted and had never had any memories of his birth parents. So in many ways, Billy and Tommy were a lot alike. Jason nodded. "But people are different, Billy. And Tommy is nothing like you, nor will he ever be. He is dealing with his problems in his own way, which I will admit is bad for him." he said. The others nodded. I was shaming everyone by the way I had been acting, including Kimberly, my own girlfriend. 


	3. 3

Chapter 3 Jason came over again that afternoon. "Tommy? Where were you this afternoon? We were waiting for you at lunch." he said. "I was out." I responded, a little more harshly than I meant. "It's not like you to miss school, Tommy." he said gently. "Stay out of my life, Jason. It's none of your business why I was not in school." I snapped again. This time Jason looked alarmed. "Sorry." he mumbled. I sighed and looked at him. "I'm sorry Jason. I'm just in a bad mood today and I'm taking it out on you. I didn't mean to." I told him. He nodded, still looking at me like he was afraid to approach me. "It's ok. But you scare me when you lose you temper like that." he said. I laughed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." I told him. "Tommy, man, talk to me. Tell me what's bugging you, I know it has to be more than just your brother." he said. I nodded. "I haven't even met him yet. I'm supposed to get together with him this afternoon." I said. Jason smiled. "That's good. What is your brother's name and how old is he?" he asked. "He's 22, and his name is David. I'm meeting him in about a half hour or so." I said. He nodded. "Good. Getting to know him might be good for you, you might find out you have a lot in common." I shook my head. "I'm scared of meeting him. I've never met him before, and I've only talked to him once on the phone. Come with me, Jase. Please." I begged, looking at him with pleading eyes. He shook his head. "I can't. He's your brother, not mine. And it would look weird if you brought me with you." I nodded. "I guess you're right. But that still doesn't stop the nervousness." I said. He nodded. "I understand. But listen to me, Tommy. Get to know David before you decide whether or not you like him. Ask him questions about himself, let him get to know you. Talk to him, I'll bet you have a lot of things in common that you don't know about." he said. I sighed. "You're right. I should get going. I'm supposed to be meeting him and I don't want to set a bad impression by showing up late." I told him. "Yes, you better get going. And Tommy? I expect to know everything." he said. I laughed and nodded, taking my keys out of my pocket and getting in my car. "Yes sir. I'll call you when I get home." I promised, driving away. 


	4. 4

Chapter 4 I drove up to the place where David and I had decided to meet. I didn't really know what he looked like, but he had a general idea of what I looked like. I found his car, only because he had told me what he drove. I finally got up the courage to go inside. Usually I was never this nervous about meeting anyone, heck, I had opened right up to Jason. But this was my own flesh and blood, someone I had not known about for 17 years, and now all of a sudden I was meeting him. I was pretty nervous. I wasn't sure about him. I wasn't sure if what Jason said would turn out true..what would he be like? Would we have anything in common? and how would he react to me? Would he treat me like a brother after so many lost years? All those questions and more were running through my head. When I looked behind me, I had left the parking lot and made it inside the building. Just then a dark skinned guy with short, brown hair came over to me. "Are you Tommy?" he asked. I nodded. I figured this was David. He smiled and held out his hand. "I'm David." he told me. He indicated the table that he had been sitting at and invited me to join him. I sat down, not saying anything. He smiled at me, putting me at ease only a little bit. "Are you nervous?" he asked. I nodded. I was actually starting to like him. He nodded. "It's understandable. To tell you the truth, I am too." he said. I looked at him curiously. "How so?" I asked. He chuckled. "Well, for the same reasons you are. I just found you after 17 years, and that makes it hard on me. I can't do the things with you that I would of liked to have done. I missed out on 17 years with you. I'm nervous because I'm not sure how you're going to react to me, and whether or not you will accept me as your brother." he told me. I smiled. "The same reasons as me." I told him. He laughed. "We already have something in common." I nodded. I already liked him, and I'd only known him for about 5 minutes. He looked at me. "Listen Tommy. I'm not sure what you want to do, or if you even want anything to do with me. But I'm offering this proposal to you. I'd like to make it up to you for missing out on 17 years of your life. That shouldn't have happened, we should never have gotten seperated for this many years. I've known about you for quite awhile, but I only just got up the courage to call you and set up a time to meet. I know your upset at this, and that's understandable, but at least give me a chance to be the brother I should be to you." he said. I held up a hand to slow him down. "Slow down. First of all, I'm not going to reject you, I have no reason to. If anything, I want to get to know you. Second of all, I'm glad you called me. If that had been me, I could have never gotten up the courage to do so." I explained. He shook his head. "Sure you would have. You have the Trueheart blood in you, you have the courage to do anything." he said. He laughed when he noticed I was looking at him with a clueless expression on my face. So he explained it to me. 


	5. Author's note

I know you probably don't want the Author's note in the middle of the story, I hate when people do that myself. But I decided to do the author's note to explain the story a little bit more.  
  
First of all, I want to say thanks to the three people who reviewed. Your reviews helped me a lot, and I'll try to work on changing the format.  
  
Second of all, as Cynthia noted, yes, this is an AU story, which I should have put in the summary, but didn't. For future reference, most of my PR stories are or will be AU.  
  
Third of all, as I haven't seen more than three episodes a piece of both Turbo and Zeo, all of my stories will more than likely take place before the Turbo and Zeo series.  
  
Now, for the formatting. I was aware when I reviewed the story myself that the formatting was screwed up. Part of the messed up formatting is due to my computer, it does not like the way I format any of my stories and it does it's own format process. But also it is partly because of me. Since this is my first story that I have actually posted on here, I'm still trying to figure out how to do the formatting and whatnot on here. Any help would be greatly appreciated, email me at Courtberens10@hotmail.com if you can help me. Sorry again on the messed up formatting, in the future I hope to know what I am doing.  
  
Now, I was told that I needed to develop the plot further. Let me explain the basic plot. See, this story is the continuation to one of my other stories called "The Legacy Continues" in which Jason's dad was drunk, and Jason was getting abused(also an AU). I had wanted to post that up here, but somehow my computer disk ate the first half of the story and I have yet to retrace it. So until I find the first half, I guess I should explain what I can to help this story out. Basically in "The Legacy", it was Tommy who helped out Jason during his dad's drinking problem. It took extensive rehab, but he finally got through it. The plot in this story is basically Jason repaying Tommy for helping him out. But once he starts drinking, friendships start getting tested. The thing is, since what happened to him 6 months ago(there is a 6 month time period between Legacy and Ambrosia), Jason doesn't want to go through seeing someone he loves get messed up because of the alcohol. I hope that helped clear up a little bit of this story.  
  
Also, I would like to add that reviews are welcome, but flames are not. Constructive criticism only please. Thank you.  
  
I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. 


	6. 6

I meant to post this sooner, but with FF.net being down over Valentines Day and everything going on in my life at the moment, I was delayed in putting it up. So for those of you who are still reading this story, I am sorry for the delay, and will try to get the rest of it up within a couple of days. Thanks for being so patient with me. I would also once again like to thank the people who reviewed this story. I am going to try to change the format on it, so I hope it works out. If not, could someone email me and tell me what I am doing wrong? My email is Courtberens10@hotmail.com  
Chapter 5 We sat there and talked for awhile. "Do you have anywhere you need to be at a certain time?" he asked me. I shook my head. "No. It's a weekend and my friends have nothing planned for this weekend. I don't think anyway. Why?" I asked. "Because I took the rest of the day off work to be here, and we might as well make the best of it. Wanna go see a movie or something?" he asked. I nodded, thinking of something that I had always wanted to do with one of my friends, but never had the money. Well, it was the middle of winter in California, and even though it was warm, the thing I wanted to do wasn't available this time of year. "Let's go bowling." I suggested. He nodded. "Ok. Let's go." he said. So we bowled about 3 games until we ended up either getting tired or hurting our wrists from bowling so much and ended up back at the resturant. Once we had gotten to our cars(which were parked side by side), we stared at each other for what seemed like the longest time. "Well, we both should probably be getting home." David said. I nodded. "It was great meeting you. I think my friend was right, I discovered we have a lot in common." I said. He nodded. "I want to take you somewhere tomorrow. I know you'll like it, it's one of my favorite places. The last time you were there, you were only about 4 or 5 months old, so you wouldn't remember it. But I do." he said. I nodded. "Sounds fun. If I don't have any plans for tomorrow, we'll have to go for it. But I won't be sure until I call Jason and see if the group came up with anything while I was gone." I said, opening the door to my car and getting in. David did the same. "I'll call you tomorrow. And Tommy? Can I tell you something?" he asked. I nodded. "Sure, anything." I said. He smiled. "It was great hanging out with you. I wasn't sure how I would feel hanging out with a 17 year old, but you're pretty cool. And I enjoyed playing the part of the older brother. I'll be taking my role more seriously from now on." he said, winking at me as he got into his car and took out his keys. I laughed. "I bet you will. But I enjoyed playing the part of the annoying kid brother, since kid brothers are supposed to be annoying. And I'll be living up to that role." I said, winking back. He laughed. "I'm sure you will. But it'll be great. And we'll get to do all the things brothers should do." he said. I nodded and checked my watch. "I have to get going. I'll call you soon though, I promise." I told him, even though I didn't want to leave. I was having fun, and I didn't want to go back home because I knew going home would result in me fighting with my parents again, and I hated doing that. But I turned on the engine and waited until David turned out of the driveway, then followed him until we came to seperate streets. We both turned off and went our seperate ways to our houses. 


	7. 7

I meant to get Chapters 5 and 6 up last night, but for some reason every time I tried doing anything on FF, it told me Load denied and I couldn't figure out why. So I couldn't get it up yesterday. As for the format of Chapter 5, I didn't get the chance to fix that, but I hope this chapter will be better. I will get chapter 7 up once I get 6 reviews, so if you want to read the rest of the story, please review. And remember, since this is my first story, I want constructive criticism only, no flames please  
Chapter 6  
  
As soon as I got home, I picked up the phone to call Jason and let him know  
  
how it went. "Hey. So how'd it go?" he asked. I laughed. "How'd you know it was  
  
me?" I asked. "I was waiting for you to call. So how'd it go?" he asked again. "It was  
  
fun. We stayed at the resturant and had dinner, then we went bowling. Then we went  
  
back to the resturant and talked for a few minutes then left. It was pretty fun." I told  
  
him. He chuckled. "See?I told you you'd have fun. Anyway, I don't know if you want  
  
to come, but Billy has this science fair type thing tomorrow afternoon. He just found  
  
out about it today. But the rest of us are going just to lend moral support." he told  
  
me. I nodded. "I'll come. It wouldn't be fair to Billy if only the 4 of you went. We're a  
  
team, we should all go. What time is it at?" I asked. "1:30." he responded. I wrote it  
  
down just so I would remember it. "I can make it. I'm meeting David again  
  
tomorrow, but not until 5:00." I said, just as my parents had come in the door. Since  
  
I wasn't actually supposed to be using the phone, I noticed the disapproving looks I  
  
was getting from my parents. "Jason, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow." I told him,  
  
hanging up and looking at my parents. Being the type of person who hardly ever got  
  
in trouble for anything, after I had blown up at my parents for what seemed like  
  
hours, they had ended up taking away my phone privligages. It was rare for me to  
  
get into trouble, and when I did, I knew I had done something wrong. Like now. I  
  
wasn't supposed to be on the phone, so I'd probably lose that longer. They didn't say  
  
anything, just frowned at me and went out into the living room. I slipped upstairs to  
  
my room and took out the paper bag I had hidden under my bed 2 days before. I  
  
took out the bottle I had stashed there and looked at it. I had tasted alcohol before  
  
and hadn't liked the taste of it. I also knew what it could do to you. But I had also  
  
heard that alcohol helped you get rid of a lot of problems. At the time, I thought it  
  
might be helpful to try. So I opened the bottle and took a big swig. I frowned at the  
  
taste, but continued drinking it until I noticed the whole bottle was gone. I made sure  
  
my parents were no where in sight and crept downstairs to the kitchen. My parents  
  
had left again, which was fine with me because I prefered not to be anywhere near  
  
them. I knew my dad kept alcohol in the house, beer, wine, you name it, it was  
  
probably there. I took a beer can out of the fridge and went back up to my room. 


	8. 8

Well, ya asked for it, and ya got it. I told ya if I got 6 reviews I would give ya the next chapter, so here it is. I'm getting the format worked out, if you can't tell, and I promise my next story will have much better formatting and even paragraphs! First stories are always hard to work out on FF.Net. Anyway, thanks again for all the reviews you've been sending me, and keep em coming!  
Apparently I fell asleep after that because when I woke up it was 11:00 in the  
  
morning. I woke up with an excrusiating headache. 'This must be what hangovers  
  
feel like.' I thought to myself. I noticed my parents still weren't home. This time I was  
  
starting to get worried about them. They had never stayed out all night. But I figured  
  
they must have come back home while I was asleep and left again. I checked the  
  
clock. It read 11:20. I knew I had to get up soon and get ready to meet the group. I  
  
hoped the headache would go away before then. I took a couple aspirin in the  
  
hopes that it would get rid of my headache. Then the phone rang. I groaned and  
  
groped around until I could find my phone. "Hello?" I said. "What's wrong with you?"  
  
came Kimberly's voice on the other end. I sighed. I wasn't about to tell her the truth.  
  
"Nothing, I'm just a little tired." I told her. "Why?" she asked. I sighed. "I went to bed  
  
late last night. That does happen. Why does everyone keep questioning me?" I  
  
snapped. "I'm sorry, sheesh. Sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of  
  
the bed this morning. Don't take your problems out on me, that's not what I'm here  
  
for." she told me harshly. That was one of the reasons I liked Kimberly, she wasn't  
  
afraid to stick up for herself in a fight, even if it was against me. I sighed. "I'm sorry, I  
  
just woke up with a really bad headache that doesn't seem to want to go away.  
  
Forgive me?" I asked her, in the voice that always made her give in. She sighed.  
  
"Fine. Just don't let it happen again." she said. "Anyway I was calling to tell you that  
  
the time has been changed for Billy's science thing. It's now at 12:00. You have a  
  
half hour to get there." she told me, hanging up the phone. I could tell she was mad  
  
at me, but she would get over it. She always did. I sighed and got ready for Billy's  
  
thing. If I hadn't already told Jason I would go, I would probably stay home and sleep  
  
most of the day, trying to work off this headache before I had to meet David.  
  
Author's question: After reading this story, if you want a better understanding of it, would anyone out there like to read the prequel to it called "The Legacy Continues?" The other story is about Jason, and though it doesn't mention much Tommy, it does talk about why Jason doesn't like what Tommy is doing to himself in this story. So if anyone would like to read that story, email me at Courtberens10@hotmail.com and let me know, or just stick it in a review. 


	9. 9

YAY!!! The lost chapter of the Legacy Continues has just been found. It was lost on FF somewhere, and got deleted off my story! So I can now post that up on here if anyone wants to read it. Ok, If you want to read the next two chapters, I want 5 more reviews before I post it up. Two chapters a day, depending on how many reviews I get. So let me know what you think of it so far.  
Chapter 8  
Now I know why I always refused to enter science fairs. Not only did I hate  
  
science, but were boring as well. Billy was the science genius in our group, and so  
  
we all supported him in whatever he did, even if it did include entering the science  
  
fairs we all hated. After an hour of listening to the lecture, I grew bored. Jason  
  
nudged me to try to get me to stay awake. "Billy won't be too happy if you fall asleep  
  
during his lecture." he whispered. I nodded, trying to focus my eyes to stay awake.  
  
Finally the lecture got over. But little did we know that Zordon would be calling us 5  
  
minutes later. We were all crowed around Billy, congragulating him on winning first  
  
place when Jason's communicator went off. He ushered us into a corner where  
  
nobody would see us. "What's up Zordon?" he asked. "Rangers, the statue monster  
  
is attacking the city. He is at Angel Grove Park right now, you must stop him." he  
  
said. Jason nodded. "We're on it." he said. We all took out our power coins and  
  
morphed, sending streaks of red, green, blue, pink, yellow, and black into the air.  
  
We ran to where we saw the statue monster, which wasn't the first time we had had  
  
an encounter with him. The first time was when Billy and Trini were petitioning to  
  
save the old statue that was up in Angel Grove park that the city commissioners  
  
wanted to tear down. After about 10 minutes of realizing that we could not defeat  
  
this monster without help, Jason called upon the megazord for help. He frowned  
  
when he noticed that I was not doing what I supposed to be doing, and without  
  
saying anything, quickly covered for me. But I knew even though he didn't say  
  
anything at the moment, he would later. He was the leader, and he didn't tolerate it if  
  
any of his team members were not doing what they were supposed to be doing. I  
  
guess leading came naturally to Jason. He was also the captain of the soccer team.  
  
But overall when it counted, he could be a good friend and that was what I needed, a  
  
friend. So after we had finally defeated the statue monsters, and the putties that Rita  
  
and Zedd had sent our way as a distraction, we demorphed. The others went back  
  
to the fair with Billy, while Jason came up and put a hand on my shoulder. "Tommy,  
  
what's wrong? You weren't fighting as well as you normally do, and you almost cost  
  
us the fight. What is going on with you?" he asked. I turned to face him, stumbling as  
  
I did so. He caught me and steadied me, as he looked into my eyes. "Tommy,  
  
you're scaring me. You are not usually this closed off to us. We're worried about  
  
you." he said. I glared at him. "Be worried all you want, it does me no good. I said I  
  
was fine, and you need to stop asking me. Get away from me, and go catch up to  
  
the others. I need to be alone right now." I told him, turning and running away from  
  
him, stumbling again as I did so. 


	10. 10

Hmm...I haven't got anymore than 2 reviews for the last chapter. Are you guys even still reading this story? If you want the next chapter, give me three more reviews and I'll get right up.  
I kept walking until I made it to my house. I glanced at my watch and noticed  
  
that it was 4:15, almost time to meet David. But when I entered the house, I found a  
  
note from my mom on the kitchen table. Tommy, David called and said he can't  
  
make it tonight. We'll be home by 11:00. That was all it said. He went to the fridge  
  
and took out one of the beer cans and went up to his room. He hadn't planned on  
  
being distracted by Jason dropping by unexpectedly. So when the door bell rang,  
  
he was startled out of what he was doing. Without thinking, he left the can on his  
  
desk and went to open the door. "Uh, hi Jase." I said, started by his unexpected  
  
visit. He smiled at me. "Hey. Billy wanted me to drop this by to you. You left before  
  
he had a chance to tell you his news, so he gave me this to give you." he said. I  
  
opened it and nodded. "He deserves it. How long will he be there?" I asked. Jason  
  
thought for a second. "Well, the contest is 2 weeks long. So he'll probably be there  
  
at least a month, I'm guessing. Which means Zack will have to put off leaving for his  
  
dad's to fill Billy's spot." he said. "I see. Well, tell him I said congragulations and if  
  
anyone deserves it, it's him." I said. The next thing I knew I had invited him and we  
  
were heading up to my room. I dashed in ahead of him and tried to find some place  
  
to hide the beer can, but I couldn't. Eventually Jason noticed it and frowned at me.  
  
"Tommy, where did this come from?" he asked, pointing at the can. I shrugged. "I  
  
don't know. I came home and it was in here. Probably from my dad." I lied. Jason  
  
narrowed his eyes at me. "Why would your dad drink in your room? And leave the  
  
can there, especially since he knows you're not old enough to drink." he asked. I  
  
shrugged. "Maybe he forgot about it." I suggested. He frowned. "Tommy, tell me the  
  
truth." he said. I sighed. "I am telling you the truth." I said, stumbling over to the bed  
  
to sit down. He frowned even more. "You've been drinking this, haven't you?" he  
  
asked. I shook my head.  
  
"No, of course not. Jason, I'm 17, I'm not old enough to drink." I responded.  
  
He shook his head, his brown eyes staring into mine with deep concern. "Tommy,  
  
tell me the truth. Have you been drinking this stuff?" he asked. There was no getting  
  
around Jason. He could be as nice could be, but when it came to something he  
  
didn't like, he could turn to into King Kong. I sighed, not saying or doing a thing. "You  
  
have, haven't you? Tell me the truth, Tommy." he demanded. I nodded. "Yes. There,  
  
you happy? You heard what you wanted to hear. Now you can leave and tell  
  
everyone else." I screamed at him. It was a good thing my parents weren't home,  
  
because they would have come up to see why I was yelling so loud. Instead of  
  
moving, Jason just sat on the bed, staring at the can and looking at me sadly. "Why  
  
Tommy? I could tell something was up, the way you kept mysteriously getting all  
  
these headaches and you kept stumbling every time we were fighting. But I wasn't  
  
sure why. Why are you doing this to yourself?" he asked. I sighed and reached for  
  
the can, but Jason held it out of my reach. "Give it to me Jason." I demanded. He  
  
shook his head. "No." he said, adamently refusing to let me have the can. I took a  
  
step forward, stumbling again as I reached for the can. "Jason, give me the can." I  
  
said through clenched teeth. He held it out and looked at me. "If you take this can,  
  
it's the last time you'll ever see me. I refuse to be friends with you if you are doing  
  
this to yourself." he said. I took the can and took a long drink, not bothering to listen  
  
to what Jason was telling me. I didn't think he would actually do it. He glared at me  
  
and stood up, walking towards the door. "Goodbye Tommy. When you're ready to  
  
turn back into yourself, give me a call." he said, storming out of the room. 


	11. 11

Hmm. Well, I'm still getting reviews so people must like this story. I know I said I wouldn't put the next chapter up til I got three reviews, but I was bored, and I need something to get my mind off the stupid football players who live below me and play excessively loud music. So here ya go. The 10 chapter. Plus, I have like three stories I have on here and it's hard to update all three of them at the same time. Also, I know my formating is still screwed up, but I found out that I need Microsoft Word so I can save my paragraphs and stuff on here, so I need to get that for my computer. Then I should be set. I hope you all are enjoying so far.  
The next day, I wandered over to where Jason and the rest of the group was  
  
standing. Instead of greeting me like the rest of the group did, Jason turned around  
  
and walked away, not bothering to say goodbye to the others. Billy looked on,  
  
confused. "Why did Jason just walk away?" he asked. I shrugged. I didn't want to tell  
  
them why, I figured Jason would tell them soon enough. "I thought you were going to  
  
Canada for that contest thing." I asked him. He shook his head. "I turned it down. I  
  
told them I only wanted to enter local contests, and besides, I don't want to be known  
  
only as the science whiz." he said. I nodded. "That's cool." I said, looking after  
  
Jason as he turned back, looking at me with sad eyes. When he caught my glance,  
  
he turned and ran again. "Let's go follow him." Zack suggested. The others nodded.  
  
"Come on Tommy." Kimberly said, turning to look at me. I shook my head. I needed  
  
to be alone. "You go on. I'll catch up to you later." I told them. So they caught up with  
  
Jason. "Jason, what's gotten into you? Why did you walk away the minute Tommy  
  
joined us?" Trini asked him. He sighed. "I have my reasons." he said. "And those  
  
are?" Kimberly asked. He shook his head. "As much as I hate what he is doing, it is  
  
not my place to tell you guys. He has to be the one to tell you." He said. Zack  
  
frowned. "Jason, what are you talking about? You and Tommy are as close as  
  
brothers. What could have happened to make you two fight like this?" he asked.  
  
Jason sighed. "I told you, I can't tell you. I can't sell him short like that, if he wants to  
  
tell you his problem, he will. I'm surprised none of you have figured it out yet, cuz I  
  
certainly have." he said. "Figured out what?" Billy asked, clearly confused by his  
  
friend's behavior. "The headaches, the stumbling when he fights, the slurred speech,  
  
come on, it's not that hard to figure out when someone is drunk." he cried. Kimberly  
  
frowned. "Drunk? Tommy? No way. Jason, you have got to be confused. Tommy is  
  
too young to drink." she said. He shook his head. "Be that as it may Kim, but our  
  
sweet innocent Tommy has been chugging beers every day for the last 3 weeks." he  
  
said. Zack frowned. "Come to think of it, when we were fighting the statue monster,  
  
Tommy's moves were way off balance. And everytime I got near him, I could smell  
  
the alcohol on his breath." he said. Jason nodded. "As could I." he said. Trini  
  
sighed. "Why would he do this to himself? Doesn't he know how dangerous it is?"  
  
she asked. Jason shook his head. "If he does, he doesn't care. But I don't think he  
  
does. He doesn't realize what the dangers of alcohol can cause you to do to those  
  
around you. And I told him if he was going to keep doing that, I refused to be seen  
  
around him. I put up with that long enough, I am not putting up with it anymore." he  
  
said. The others suddenly grew silent. It had only been 6 months since Jason's dad  
  
had been arrested for child abuse. His dad was an avid alcoholic, and he drank  
  
every day. For no reason at all, he would take all his problems out on Jason. Every  
  
day Jason came to school with bruises on his face and arms from the abuse. It had  
  
been Tommy who had finally gotten him to go to the authorities. His dad had been  
  
arrested, and thanks to the help of one of the Lost Galaxy rangers, he had gotten the  
  
help he needed to get over the abuse. But now Tommy was doing the same thing.  
  
The group now understood why Jason wanted nothing to do with Tommy when he  
  
was acting like this. Zack nodded. "I understand now. Jason is afraid that if Tommy  
  
keeps this up, he'll lose his best friend to the hatred just like he lost his dad." he said  
  
softly. The others nodded. It had only been 6 months, but it seemed just like  
  
yesterday. Jason was over the abuse and trying to move on with his life, but you  
  
could still see the hurt in his eyes. And the bruises were still physically visable, even  
  
after all those months. They hadn't gone completely away. "Yes. I hate not talking to  
  
him. He's my best friend. But I don't want to see him do the same thing my dad did. I  
  
love Tommy like a brother. But I can't be around all that stuff again. I know Tommy  
  
realizes that, and it'll be awhile until he realizes that he is not only hurting himself, but  
  
us in the process. And until then, I'll be waiting. But I will not be seen with him until he  
  
stops drinking." he said.  
Author's note: Nobody wants to read The Legacy Continues? I haven't gotten reviews or email from anyone telling me they want me to post it up here. It's the prequel to this story. 


	12. 12

Two days later, I was walking through the park when I saw Jason up ahead,  
  
practicing some karate moves. I wanted to make peace with him, so I came up  
  
behind him. "Mind if I join you?" I asked. He shook his head without even turning  
  
around. "Go away." he said. I understood why he was upset with me. Ever since his  
  
dad had gotten arrested, Jason had been putting all his effort into his karate, so he  
  
could use it efficently whenever they fought. It was also the only mode of self-  
  
defense he knew. "Jason, come on. You shouldn't practice by yourself, it's not  
  
safe." I reminded him of what our instructor had always told us. He whirled around to  
  
face me. "Go away. I already told you I don't want to be around you." he said. I  
  
sighed. "Listen Jason, I'm sorry I'm doing this, but I can't stop. Besides, you should  
  
try it. It gives you an adrenaline rush. It's fun Jase, you should try it." I said. He glared  
  
at me and rolled up his sleeves revealing a big bruise that hadn't quite gone away.  
  
"Fun? Getting drunk is fun? Does this look like fun to you, Tommy?" he asked,  
  
showing me his arm. It was still all scarred and bruised from 6 months ago. But the  
  
pain would never go away for Jason. "This is not fun, Tommy. This is what the  
  
alcohol does to those around you. It causes you to act crazy. It causes you to do  
  
things you don't mean to do. It causes you to hurt people, people you care about.  
  
This is not fun." he said, still holding his arm out. "Jason, I..." I said, before I was cut  
  
off. "No, you're going to listen to me now. This is what is going to happen to you. Not  
  
what happened to me, but what happened to my dad. You will end up in jail, wasting  
  
away 25 years of your life. And all for what? Just for enjoying the rush you are  
  
getting? Maybe. But what about your friends, Tommy? What about your family?  
  
What will happen to them? Take it from me, Tommy, it's no fun being drunk. I may  
  
never have been drunk, but I experienced it enough by my dad. And look where it  
  
got me; It ended up getting me abused, ending me up in therapy, thanks to Kai. I  
  
used to blame myself for my dad's actions. But you were the one who told me that it  
  
wasn't my fault that he kept doing this to me. Tommy, you're my best friend, and you  
  
know I love you like a brother. But I can't be around you when you do this to yourself.  
  
I used to come to school every day, always dreading going home because I knew  
  
what would happen. I wondered why I would always go home and my dad would be  
  
drinking. At first I thought it was my fault." he said, pausing to take a breath. I  
  
grabbed the opportunity to speak. "But it wasn't your fault, Jason." I said. He  
  
nodded. "I know that now. But then I would be sitting in my room at night doing  
  
homework or something and he would come home from work and come straight to  
  
my room, grab me off the bed and start hitting me. That was no fun for me. I never  
  
told anyone this Tommy, but there were times I would sit in my room and actually  
  
start crying because I wanted to know what I had done to make my dad so mad. So  
  
you see Tommy, alcohol abuse not only affects you, but it affects those around you.  
  
You can see why I don't want you to do this to yourself. I love you like a brother, and I  
  
can't stand the thought of you turning out like my dad. I hate my dad for what he did  
  
to me. I don't ever want to hate you." he said, finally stopping to let me speak.  
  
"Jason, I'm not your dad. And it's not alcohol abuse. I can control it, unlike your  
  
dad." I said. He shook his head. "You think you can. And it is too alcohol abuse.  
  
When you drink every day nonstop, that's abusing the alcohol. Especially for you,  
  
Tommy, because you are underage. You're scaring me, Tommy, you're scaring me  
  
and Kimberly and Trini and Zack and Billy with what you are doing to yourself. None  
  
of us want to see you end up in jail for 25 years like my dad did. Do you remember  
  
when I refused the help that Kai offered me? Remember when I tricked you guys into  
  
thinking Zordon called you and I was waiting for you as the evil red ranger? I almost  
  
killed you, do you remember? I almost killed you because of what my dad did to me.  
  
I was taking it out on you guys, which I shouldn't have. Tommy, please, stop and  
  
think about what you are doing to yourself." he said. And without another word, he  
  
walked away leaving me to think about what he had just told me. 


	13. 13

Author's note: I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to get more chapters out on this story. I have been busy with school, and the weather has been awful and made me feel like not updating lately, but it's warmer now, and I have a full weekend to update. I hope to get the rest of this story up this weekend, as there are not many chapters to go. And then I want to get started on getting the Legacy up here. I had one request to put Legacy up on here, nobody else wants to read it? Well, I'll post it up anyway and whoever wants to can read it. Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews, I appreciate it. Please keep them coming. Also, I'm currently trying to find a Microsoft Word disk, because the Microsoft Word compatable software I had didn't like FF.Net, so it will not work. But thanks again for being so patient.  
That afternoon David listened to the message on his machine for the third time,  
  
trying to decipher it. David, this is a friend of Tommy's. All I can say at the  
  
moment is that he is having a problem that he needs your help with. Meet me at  
  
the park at 3:30. I'll be there with 4 of my friends. it said. David couldn't figure out  
  
who the message had come from, or what kind of problem Tommy was having.  
  
Even though he had only known Tommy for a few weeks and had seen him about  
  
twice a week, he was still concerned for his brother. He checked his watch. 3:15. He  
  
decided to go meet up with Tommy's friend to see what they wanted to tell him. He  
  
got to the park and walked up to a bench where he saw 5 teenagers sitting, three  
  
boys and 2 girls. The guy with short, brown hair stepped over to him. "Are you  
  
David?" he asked. David nodded. "Yes. Which one of you called me here?" he  
  
asked. "I did. I'm Jason, and these are my friends Billy, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly.  
  
We are all friends of your brother." he explained. "What kind of problem is Tommy  
  
having? Why did you call me here?" he asked. Jason sighed. "Tommy has been  
  
taking in excessive amounts of alcohol lately to deal with his problems. This has  
  
been going on for almost a month now, 3 and a half weeks to be exact. We cannot  
  
get through to him on what he is doing to himself. You're his brother, maybe you can  
  
get through to him." he said. David sighed. "I just met him, I don't think he would  
  
listen to me." he said. The guy with blond hair stepped up to him. "You're our only  
  
hope." he said. Jason sighed and rolled up his shirt sleeves to show David the  
  
bruises on his arm. "David, look. This is why I do not want Tommy to screw himself  
  
up by drinking. My dad was an alcoholic and every night when he came home from  
  
work he would hit me for no apparent reason. I was abused for almost 3 years, from  
  
the time I was 15. Finally I got up the courage to go to the authorities, thanks to  
  
Tommy. That's why I want him to get the help he needs, to stop doing this to himself.  
  
I don't want to get hurt again, nor do I want him to get hurt, nor Billy or the girls.  
  
Please try to talk to him David." he pleaded. David nodded. "I'll try." he promised. 


	14. 14

Author's note: This is the longest chapter, but it also explains alot in here. This chapter explains more about Jason's problem then the Legacy does, and if you read you'll find out what I'm talking about. But, this is also the last chapter, the next chapter is the shortest and it just the epilogue. I had the prologue on here, but for some reason it wouldn't let me upload it, so you can't read the very beginning. I hope you enjoyed the story and I hope that you'll read the Legacy once I get it up. As always, please read and review, it does a body good!  
Having David talk to me did no good. So Jason came over that day with one last  
  
desperate attempt to get me to change my ways. "I'm taking you some where.  
  
Come with me." he said, without another word and getting into the car. I followed  
  
him silently. We drove for a little while before I got up the courage to ask him where  
  
we were going. "Where are we going?" I asked. He sighed. "My mom doesn't know  
  
I'm going here. I was forbidden to come here, but I need to. It's my last desperate  
  
attempt with you Tommy." he said. I scrunched up my brow. "Oookkk..But that didn't  
  
answer my question." I said. Just then we pulled up to a building. I saw the sign that  
  
said Angel Grove Prison. We got out, and I followed Jason inside. He  
  
walked to the desk and said something to the lady. "I'm here to see  
  
my dad." he told her. She nodded and picked up the phone. A few  
  
minutes later, out walked a guy, escorted by a police officer, with his  
  
hands handcuffed in front of him. He smiled at Jason, who only  
  
nodded in return and sat down, indicating me to sit in the empty seat  
  
next to him. I looked at him. "Jason, why did you bring me here?" I  
  
asked. He sighed and looked at me. "Because Tommy. This is what  
  
is going to happen to you. Take a good look at my dad. If you keep  
  
this up, this will happen to you. I refuse to come visit my dad in  
  
prison, but I don't want to have to visit you here." he said. I sighed. I  
  
looked at Jason's dad. 6 months in prison had turned him into an  
  
animal. I mean, he had grown a full beard and his hair was turning  
  
grey, and he'd only been in there 6 months. I didn't want that to  
  
happen to me. "It's hard, Jason. It's hard to stop. I want to, but I  
  
can't." I told him. Finally Jason's dad spoke. "You can stop, Tommy.  
  
You have to have faith. If you have the support of your family and  
  
friends, which I know you do, you can quit." he said. For the first time  
  
in several months, I saw Jason look at his dad admiringly. "Listen to  
  
him, Tommy. Please listen to him. If not for anybody else, then for  
  
me. I don't want to go through the abuse again, Tommy." he said,  
  
looking at me with pleading eyes. Jason's dad looked at me and  
  
spoke again. "Tommy, I know you. You're a great kid, and I know  
  
you'd never do anything to harm yourself or your friends. You're the  
  
best friend Jason has ever had, and I know that for a fact. If you  
  
won't listen to him, then at least listen to me. Tommy, take a good  
  
hard look at me. Why am I in here? I ask myself that every night. And  
  
every night I get the same answer. If only I had learned how to  
  
control my alcohol intake, then maybe I wouldn't be in here. And then  
  
maybe Jason wouldn't have to live with the scars from all the abuse I  
  
gave to him. I'm losing out on 25 years of my life, just because of my  
  
alcohol abuse. Tommy, please. You need to stop, and I know you  
  
can. If I could take back everything I ever did to Jason, I would, but I  
  
can't, and I have to live with the fact that I almost killed him. And  
  
could have killed him, if he had not broken the window and jumped  
  
out that night." he said, pausing to take a breath. I looked at Jason.  
  
Now this was part of the story that I had not heard before. Jason  
  
sighed, and I knew he would tell me later if I asked. So I would. Then  
  
Jason's dad started again. "You can stop Tommy, I know you can.  
  
And I know you know you can. I know it's not that easy, but with  
  
friends like Jason and the others, I know you can stop. It may take  
  
time, but so what, that will be the time you turn back into to the  
  
Tommy I know. I don't want to see Jason go through the abuse  
  
again. You don't know this, but I can see it in his eyes, Tommy. You  
  
may not physically be abusing him, but mentally he is reliving  
  
everything I did to him, and he doesn't want that to happen again. He  
  
hates me, and I can understand that, but there is no reason for him to  
  
hate you. Stop, Tommy. I know you can." he said, as he was led  
  
back to his cell then by the police officer. We walked back out to the  
  
car, neither of us speaking. Once we got in the car and started down  
  
the road, I stared out the window, thinking of everything his dad had  
  
told me. Then Jason caught my attention by starting to tell the story I  
  
wanted to hear. "He almost killed me, Tommy. Literally. He came  
  
home one night, more drunk than I had ever seen him. I wanted him  
  
to stop, I begged him to stop. But he didn't listen. I tried to call you,  
  
but when I picked up the phone, he pulled it out of the wall. He  
  
picked up the metal baseball bat that was sitting behind my door and  
  
held it in his hands, like he was going to swing at something. Well,  
  
that something he swung at was me. The bat came about an inch  
  
from my face. I was able to duck out of the way, but I wasn't fast  
  
enough for the second blow. The second time, he actually hit me. I  
  
have the scar on my neck to prove it. But the third time, I blocked him  
  
and held him back. I pleaded with him to stop, that he didn't know  
  
what he was getting himself into. I begged him. I told him I would do  
  
anything if he stopped, including not telling the authorities. I told him I  
  
would let him get away with everything he was doing and never tell a  
  
soul if he stopped. But that didn't even help. It wasn't him doing it, it  
  
was the liquor he was consuming. So he swung the bat again, once  
  
he got it free of my grasp. I was able to free myself long enough to  
  
break the window with my fist. While he was screaming and swinging  
  
at me and trying to hit me again with the bat, I jumped out the  
  
window. Tommy, if I had waited another second to break that  
  
window, he would have killed me. You don't know how scared I was  
  
at that moment." he said, finally stopping. I was listening intently. He  
  
had never told any us of this part of the story before. But I did  
  
remember the day he came to school with a black eye and the bruise  
  
on his neck. Maybe that was when it had happened. "Wow. I don't  
  
know what to say. You never told anyone that." I said. He nodded,  
  
not taking his eyes off the road for a second. "I know. I hadn't  
  
planned on telling anyone, because it brought back to many  
  
memories. But when my dad mentioned it, I knew I needed to tell  
  
you." he said. Finally when he stopped at a light, he looked at me.  
  
"Tommy, I don't want to go through this again. You have to stop, you  
  
don't know what this is doing to me. Or to the others. Or to yourself.  
  
Don't just stop for us, stop for yourself. This can eventually kill you if  
  
you don't stop. Or lead you to where my dad is. You heard his story,  
  
but the decision is up to you." he said, pulling through the light and  
  
turning the corner. After hearing that story, I vowed to stop drinking  
  
right then and there, if not for anyone else, but for myself and my  
  
friends. I had wanted to stop, but it became to addicting. I looked at  
  
Jason, but never spoke. He stopped the car once it reached my  
  
drive way, but neither of us made an attempt to move. Finally he  
  
turned to me. I could see his eyes filling up with tears. What I was  
  
doing to myself must have been bringing back painful memories for  
  
him. Without saying a word, I reached over and embraced my friend  
  
in a big hug. Once I was satisfied that he was calm, I released him  
  
and looked into his chocolate-brown eyes. "I'm going to stop, Jase. I  
  
promise. For you, for myself, for everyone. I promise, right here and  
  
now that I will stop abusing the alcohol. You're my witness on that." I  
  
told him, making him promise that he would never let me touch  
  
another liquor can again. He nodded, smiling through the teary eyes.  
  
"You have my word on that, Tommy. I'll never let you touch another  
  
liquor can again. And you have the support of all your friends. Kim,  
  
Trini, Zack, Billy and I will always be there for you, we're you're  
  
friends. Next time talk to us if you are having a problem. Never resort  
  
to using alcohol or drugs to solve those problems, they don't help."  
  
he told me, a note of sterness in his voice. I nodded, holding up my  
  
hand and promising to never ever drink again. 


	15. Epilogue

YEAH! Last chapter! My first ever complete story on FF! *Authoress does a happy dance!* And I have you guys to thank for that. You kept this story going by reviewing it. So thanks again. And Legacy will be up soon, for those who are interested in reading it. So once again, thanks to everyone who reviewed this story, I hope you enjoyed it.  
  
Also, the part about the Jason's dad and the metal baseball bat in the last chapter was not mentioned in the Legacy and it is just something I thought about while I was writing it. I almost had my friend in tears when she read that part because she said it was so emotional.  
It was hard, just as Jason's dad had said it would be, but I managed  
  
it. I managed to stop drinking. What surprised me the most was that  
  
my parents knew why I had resorted to that and they supported me  
  
all the way on my decision to quit, like I knew they would. My dad  
  
even took all the liquor out of the house, so I wouldn't even get the  
  
urge to touch it. And my friends had all been there for me. Jason was  
  
the one who stuck by me the most, but everyone was there,  
  
encouraging me that I could quit, when I didn't think I'd be able to.  
  
David even came by a couple times and talked me out of it. It's been  
  
about 3 weeks since I quit, not that long, I know, but as Jason says,  
  
3 weeks is better than not at all. And I agree. I never want to see him  
  
go through that again, or any of my friends for that matter. I now know  
  
that as long as you have the support of friends and family, anything is  
  
possible. I will never resort to consuming large amounts of liquor  
  
again. That is a promise I made to myself and my friends. 


End file.
